Nickelodeon Orders Live Action Musical Comedy Series Based on SCHOOL OF ROCK!

Viacom Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VIAB and VIA) Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, and Paramount Television divisions are teaming up for the first time to produce the new live-action, musical-comedy series School of Rock, based on the 2003 hit film from Paramount Pictures.

Nickelodeon has ordered 13 episodes of the series, which is scheduled to begin production this fall and premiere in the spring of 2015. Casting for the series will be announced shortly. School of Rock will follow the adventures and misadventures of Dewey Finn, a down-on-his-luck rocker who poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school as he teaches his eccentric, unconventional and overachieving students to play and love rock 'n' roll.

"We are thrilled our first foray into kids programming will be a straight-to-series order with our Viacom partners at Nickelodeon," said Amy Powell, President, Paramount Television. "With Dewey's outrageous personality and rock star sensibilities taking center stage, School of Rock will be an irresistibly fun show for the whole family."

"School of Rock is one of those great movies that always felt quintessentially Nickelodeon in its tone and humor, and we jumped at the opportunity to partner with Paramount Television and bring it to life as a TV series," said Russell Hicks, President, Content and Development, Nickelodeon. "Once again, kids will be able to laugh and rock!"

School of Rock will be written by Jim and Steve Armogida (Crash & Bernstein, My Family), who will also serve as executive producers and show runners. The movie's director Richard Linklater and producer Scott Rudin will executive produce the television series.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 35th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 19 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (VIAB, VIA).

About Paramount Television

Paramount Television develops and finances a wide range of creative television programming across all media platforms. Paramount Television is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a division of Viacom (VIAB, VIA), a global content company with premier television, film and digital entertainment brands.